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DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Does anyone do anything besides CW while DX'ing? I still have to
learn/practice CW but would like to try my hand at DX. I know that CW is generally most efficient at low power, but if you don't yet know it..it isn't much help.. |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Jeff wrote:
Does anyone do anything besides CW while DX'ing? I still have to learn/practice CW but would like to try my hand at DX. I know that CW is generally most efficient at low power, but if you don't yet know it..it isn't much help.. Since you did not say where you are or give a callsign, I'll assume you are in the U.S. The FCC slants DX contacts twoard CW. During the sunspot low, the prime DX bands are 80m and 40m. Outside of the America's 80m is 3.500 to 3.850, most of which is CW only in the U.S. 40m is 7.000 to 7.200, but until very recently it ended at 7100. You can work split, where you transmit in the ssb portion of the band, while a DX ham transmits in their voice band. Arranging such contacts is difficult, and here when there is propigation to the U.S. on the 3.850-4.000 and 7.100 to 7.300 bands, they are full of broadcast stations, and it is almost impossible to hear anything else. These stations start going off the air around midnight local time, but so do most of the local hams. Many hams outside the U.S. have little or no English and therefore prefer to use CW beacuse there is no languange problem. Others speak it perfectly well. As the sunspots improve the chance for voice contacts improves as the higher bands open. 20m is occasionaly open now, but not all day. My suggestion to you is to get a rig, get out there and start making contacts. The skills you learn apply to both CW and voice. There are a million ways to learn morse code, the best one IMHO is an audio/visual course called "code quick". It was the best $50 I've ever spent on a hobby. Another method that works for MOST, but not ALL people is to get on the air and ask local hams for the name of an Elmer (mentor). Note that ACCURATE sending and copy is far more important than SPEED, so once you can send and copy accurately, then you can get on the air and start making contacts. The best way to improve you speed is to use it. If you don't have an HF rig yet, I suggest that you look into an older Ten-Tec rig. They are excelent for CW and SSB and you can get an older rig fairly cheaply. It won't have a lot of "bells and whistles", but it will work well. Ask around for advice on buying a used rig, and buy it from someone you trust. Avoid auction sites. 73, Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/ |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
On Jan 21, 9:54 pm, (Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote: Since you did not say where you are or give a callsign, I'll assume you are in the U.S. The FCC slants DX contacts twoard CW. During the sunspot low, the prime DX bands are 80m and 40m. Outside of the America's 80m is 3.500 to 3.850, most of which is CW only in the U.S. 40m is 7.000 to 7.200, but until very recently it ended at 7100. Yep, I'm in the US. Also, I already have an HF rig, but my antenna is a "work in progress" at this point in time. Basically my gardener cut it in half :-{ I know that before I aspire to DX I need to improve my antenna situation, but DX is mostly why I got into the hobby. I want to see how far/who I can make contact with. Also, I'd like to get into some of the homebrew QRP stuff as well. The main problem I have with morse is synchronization... by that I mean, I can learn the tones, but at some point I can't distinguish a dit from a dah, and then I lose track of where I am in a character and it all seems to mix together...need more practice. My dad tells me about the guys he knew in the service who could use dual paddles and send code all day long while simultaneously reading something else. |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Jeff wrote:
The main problem I have with morse is synchronization... by that I mean, I can learn the tones, but at some point I can't distinguish a dit from a dah, and then I lose track of where I am in a character and it all seems to mix together...need more practice. There are various methods for doing that. Code Quick converts the character into words which makes it processed in a different part of your brain. After 29 years of trying unsucessfully to learn morse code by being beeped at, I learned it in a few months with code quick. At my peak, I was able to copy 35 wpm. Jerry Zilliak, KB6MT, produced a high speed words course in the 1980's which once I learned with code quick, helped me get up there. He still sells it. Code is no longer required for a (U.S.) license, so that should not stop you from getting on the air. You can learn good operating procedure, how to find and contact DX stations and so on with SSB. Once you get your code speed up to a reliable, accurate 5 wpm, you can move to CW, and build your speed on the air. As for an antenna, a random wire would do for a start. 73, Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/ |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
Does anyone do anything besides CW while DX'ing? I still have to learn/practice CW but would like to try my hand at DX. get on the air and start making contacts. The best way to improve you speed is to use it. Geoff's advice is VERY good, IMO. Concentrate on sending clean code--use a keyer if you can--and most hams will happily slow down as much as you need. And if you use CW, you'll find your abilities increasing dramatically. I got my Tech+ license in 1991 and started working DX on the CW part of the 15-meter band. Six months later i was testing for General and 'accidentally' passed the 20wpm code test, which I took just as a warm-up for 13wpm. No practice at all, just a few hundred QSOs. And you're right (original poster) that there's MUCH more DX on the CW portions, more of the time. Even if you wind up using phone or digital a lot, you'll still want to be able to use CW if you want to be a DXer! Good luck, original poster (and Geoff too)! 73 de AC4RD _______________________________________________ Ken Kuzenski AC4RD atsign mindspring dotsign com _______________________________________________ All disclaimers apply, see? www.duke.edu/~kuzen001 |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
"Jeff" wrote in message ... Does anyone do anything besides CW while DX'ing? I still have to learn/practice CW but would like to try my hand at DX. I know that CW is generally most efficient at low power, but if you don't yet know it..it isn't much help.. Lots of DXers work SSB, RTTY, PSK31and even FM while DXing This is evident by looking at the ARRL DXCC award listings see URL: http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/ click on DXCC Listings for PHONE Some DXpeditions and DX stations operate CW only, so it is definitely worth while to master the code. My log book shows 2/3 SSB, 1/3 CW and a few data contacts. When the sunspot cycle is up, you can work tons of DX on SSB with just 100 watts and a good antenna. In fact when propagation is favorable, one can work DXCC (100 countries) with 5 Watts of power (QRP) quite easlily either SSB or CW or both (mixed) Lamont (DXCC honor roll mixed) DXCC Phone - All Time Confirmed + Deleted -- 328 (319 Current) |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
I guess it doesn't really count as DX but are there certain frequencies
on the various bands where people congregate to work on things like WAS? I have been out of ham radio for a couple of decades but have once again been bitten by the bug and I set up a couple of HF rigs and some simple antennae. I thought WAS might be a good target to start with. (I did work Cuba the other night and was amazed that even with my modest setup he heard me ont he first call!!) bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Just an idea, and I know it's not "official"...but is it possible to
use software and integrate a PC into your rig to send/receive CW and convert back and forth into text on the PC? Possibly with some software and an audio card on the PC? In other words, the PC receives text from the keyboard..converts to CW and sends to rig, rig receives CW and sends to PC which converts back to text on the PC screen? On Jan 22, 9:16 am, (Bill Gunshannon) wrote: I guess it doesn't really count as DX but are there certain frequencies on the various bands where people congregate to work on things like WAS? I have been out of ham radio for a couple of decades but have once again been bitten by the bug and I set up a couple of HF rigs and some simple antennae. I thought WAS might be a good target to start with. (I did work Cuba the other night and was amazed that even with my modest setup he heard me ont he first call!!) bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
"Bill Gunshannon" wrote in message ... I guess it doesn't really count as DX but are there certain frequencies on the various bands where people congregate to work on things like WAS? I have been out of ham radio for a couple of decades but have once again been bitten by the bug and I set up a couple of HF rigs and some simple antennae. I thought WAS might be a good target to start with. (I did work Cuba the other night and was amazed that even with my modest setup he heard me ont he first call!!) bill KB3YV -- A couple of WAS nets THE TRIPLE H NET ASSOCIATION http://www.hhhnet.net/index.html 3905 Century Club Net http://www.3905ccn.com/ DX nets at URL: http://ac6v.com/nets.htm#DXN But some DXers prefer to not work nets and find the contacts themselves - remain pure as it were. Lamont 5 BAND WAS, WAS 17M, WAS CW, WAS QRP 49 STATES WORKED ON 12M AND 6M |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
In article ,
Jeff writes: Just an idea, and I know it's not "official"...but is it possible to use software and integrate a PC into your rig to send/receive CW and convert back and forth into text on the PC? Possibly with some software and an audio card on the PC? In other words, the PC receives text from the keyboard..converts to CW and sends to rig, rig receives CW and sends to PC which converts back to text on the PC screen? There has been both hardware and software approaches to doing this for more than 20 years that I know of. But, when conditions get bad the best DSP for copyoing CW is still the human. bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
In article ,
"The Shadow" writes: "Bill Gunshannon" wrote in message ... I guess it doesn't really count as DX but are there certain frequencies on the various bands where people congregate to work on things like WAS? I have been out of ham radio for a couple of decades but have once again been bitten by the bug and I set up a couple of HF rigs and some simple antennae. I thought WAS might be a good target to start with. (I did work Cuba the other night and was amazed that even with my modest setup he heard me ont he first call!!) bill KB3YV -- A couple of WAS nets THE TRIPLE H NET ASSOCIATION http://www.hhhnet.net/index.html 3905 Century Club Net http://www.3905ccn.com/ DX nets at URL: http://ac6v.com/nets.htm#DXN But some DXers prefer to not work nets and find the contacts themselves - remain pure as it were. Lamont 5 BAND WAS, WAS 17M, WAS CW, WAS QRP 49 STATES WORKED ON 12M AND 6M I would prefer to avoid nets. I just thought there might have been an unofficial place where people listened for other people working on WAS. bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing?
Thanks. On Jan 22, 10:01*am, (Bill Gunshannon) wrote: In article , * * * * Jeff writes: Just an idea, and I know it's not "official"...but is it possible to use software and integrate a PC into your rig to send/receive CW and convert back and forth into text on the PC? *Possibly with some software and an audio card on the PC? *In other words, the PC receives text from the keyboard..converts to CW and sends to rig, rig receives CW and sends to PC which converts back to text on the PC screen? There has been both hardware and software approaches to doing this for more than 20 years that I know of. *But, when conditions get bad the best DSP for copyoing CW is still the human. bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon * * * * *| *de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. *Three wolves * * | *and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton * | Scranton, Pennsylvania * | * * * * #include std.disclaimer.h * |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
In article ,
Jeff writes: Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? Thanks. On Jan 22, 10:01*am, (Bill Gunshannon) wrote: In article , * * * * Jeff writes: Just an idea, and I know it's not "official"...but is it possible to use software and integrate a PC into your rig to send/receive CW and convert back and forth into text on the PC? *Possibly with some software and an audio card on the PC? *In other words, the PC receives text from the keyboard..converts to CW and sends to rig, rig receives CW and sends to PC which converts back to text on the PC screen? There has been both hardware and software approaches to doing this for more than 20 years that I know of. *But, when conditions get bad the best DSP for copyoing CW is still the human. As I said earlier, I have been off the air for two decades. I recently hooked up my ancient Kantronics All Mode just for grins and it does still work (I use it for RTTY, as I remembered, it doesn't copy CW very well at all). You can't even find documentation at the Kantronics site for this box anymore. I would recommend looking in something like a recent AES catalog. bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Jeff wrote:
Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? It depends upon your radio and computer. You might want to look at PSK31, a digital mode that uses the same bandwidth as CW. There is a lot of debate about using a computer to send and receive CW. It's an easy way out, and it does not improve your ability to send or copy morse code. 73, Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/ |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
"Jeff" wrote in message ... Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? Thanks. check out these programs http://www.writelog.com/overview.htm http://www.k1ea.com/ Lamont |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Don't these programs log your QSO?
On Jan 22, 1:38*pm, "The Shadow" wrote: "Jeff" wrote in message ... Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? Thanks. check out these programshttp://www.writelog.com/overview.htm http://www.k1ea.com/ Lamont |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
"Jeff" wrote in message
... Does anyone do anything besides CW while DX'ing? I still have to learn/practice CW but would like to try my hand at DX. I know that CW is generally most efficient at low power, but if you don't yet know it..it isn't much help.. Oh yes there's a lot of DX on voice. Generally the pile ups are bigger and more unruley though. That makes it quite a bit harder. Then of course the signal to noise ratio is also poorer. However, I've worked quite a few on voice using no more than 100 watts and a G5RV. Dee, N8UZE |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
"Jeff" wrote in message ... On Jan 21, 9:54 pm, (Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote: Since you did not say where you are or give a callsign, I'll assume you are in the U.S. The FCC slants DX contacts twoard CW. During the sunspot low, the prime DX bands are 80m and 40m. Outside of the America's 80m is 3.500 to 3.850, most of which is CW only in the U.S. 40m is 7.000 to 7.200, but until very recently it ended at 7100. Yep, I'm in the US. Also, I already have an HF rig, but my antenna is a "work in progress" at this point in time. Basically my gardener cut it in half :-{ I know that before I aspire to DX I need to improve my antenna situation, but DX is mostly why I got into the hobby. I want to see how far/who I can make contact with. Also, I'd like to get into some of the homebrew QRP stuff as well. The main problem I have with morse is synchronization... by that I mean, I can learn the tones, but at some point I can't distinguish a dit from a dah, and then I lose track of where I am in a character and it all seems to mix together...need more practice. My dad tells me about the guys he knew in the service who could use dual paddles and send code all day long while simultaneously reading something else. AHA, your description of your problem points to the root cause. It sounds like you are trying to "count" the dits and dahs. This approach will prevent you from getting to useful speeds and will hamper your learning efforts. Get a program like G4FON (free for the downloading) and following the directions exactly. Set the character speed no lower than 15wpm. Word speed can be whatever you can initially write at (you will get better on the writing and reflex action with time). Practice 30 minutes per day broken into several shorter sessions. Learn each character not as a series of dits and dahs but as a unique, discrete sound. For example, an A is di-dah. You shouldn't even be thinking about the dots and dashes. You should strive to form a reflex reaction such that when you hear di-dah you AUTOMATICALLY think or write the letter A without thinking about the combination of dits and dahs. Good luck. This takes time so do NOT get impatient. Dee, N8UZE |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
"Bill Gunshannon" wrote in message ... In article , "The Shadow" writes: "Bill Gunshannon" wrote in message ... I guess it doesn't really count as DX but are there certain frequencies on the various bands where people congregate to work on things like WAS? I have been out of ham radio for a couple of decades but have once again been bitten by the bug and I set up a couple of HF rigs and some simple antennae. I thought WAS might be a good target to start with. (I did work Cuba the other night and was amazed that even with my modest setup he heard me ont he first call!!) bill KB3YV -- A couple of WAS nets THE TRIPLE H NET ASSOCIATION http://www.hhhnet.net/index.html 3905 Century Club Net http://www.3905ccn.com/ DX nets at URL: http://ac6v.com/nets.htm#DXN But some DXers prefer to not work nets and find the contacts hemselves - remain pure as it were. Lamont 5 BAND WAS, WAS 17M, WAS CW, WAS QRP 49 STATES WORKED ON 12M AND 6M I would prefer to avoid nets. I just thought there might have been an unofficial place where people listened for other people working on WAS. bill KB3YV Contests are good for chasing awards. Try the November Sweepstakes, Field Day, North American QSO Party, various state QSO parties, and so on. Dee, N8UZE |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
CWGET software and your computer's sound card. Uses the sound card so no
TNC or multimode controller needed. CWGET is probably the best one available. Dee, N8UZE "Jeff" wrote in message ... Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? Thanks. On Jan 22, 10:01 am, (Bill Gunshannon) wrote: In article , Jeff writes: Just an idea, and I know it's not "official"...but is it possible to use software and integrate a PC into your rig to send/receive CW and convert back and forth into text on the PC? Possibly with some software and an audio card on the PC? In other words, the PC receives text from the keyboard..converts to CW and sends to rig, rig receives CW and sends to PC which converts back to text on the PC screen? There has been both hardware and software approaches to doing this for more than 20 years that I know of. But, when conditions get bad the best DSP for copyoing CW is still the human. bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
Read the complete descriptions-- sends and receives cw and logs as well
WriteLog sez can key your radio flawlessly even while communicating to the packet network, talking to the radio, and even connecting to the Internet! WriteLog includes a full CW reader that can copy up to 6 channels of audio simultaneously. -------------------------------- How do I use CT to send CW? CT requires a simple interface between either a COM or LPT port and your radio's "CW KEY" input. You can build one using the schematic in the CT manual, or you can purchase a pre-made interface from one of the following sources (no endorsement is expressed or implied): not sure if CT readsCW "Jeff" wrote in message ... Don't these programs log your QSO? On Jan 22, 1:38 pm, "The Shadow" wrote: "Jeff" wrote in message ... Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? Thanks. check out these programs http://www.writelog.com/overview.htm http://www.k1ea.com/ Lamont |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
also check out
a.. CwGet and CwType - Program to receive morse code via sound card, Windows 95/98/NT. UA9OSV CwType - Terminal program to transmit morse code (Windows 95/98). It allows to send CW both from the keyboard and from the paddle connected to the joystick interface or any other hardware port. a.. MRP40 Morse Decoder - Program to receive morse code via sound card, Windows 9x/Me/XP, it allows to transmit morse code from the keyboard. Includes a comfortable Audio Analyzer Display. Successor of known MRP37 "The Shadow" wrote in message ... Read the complete descriptions-- sends and receives cw and logs as well WriteLog sez can key your radio flawlessly even while communicating to the packet network, talking to the radio, and even connecting to the Internet! WriteLog includes a full CW reader that can copy up to 6 channels of audio simultaneously. -------------------------------- How do I use CT to send CW? CT requires a simple interface between either a COM or LPT port and your radio's "CW KEY" input. You can build one using the schematic in the CT manual, or you can purchase a pre-made interface from one of the following sources (no endorsement is expressed or implied): not sure if CT readsCW "Jeff" wrote in message ... Don't these programs log your QSO? On Jan 22, 1:38 pm, "The Shadow" wrote: "Jeff" wrote in message ... Can you recommend some of the better options for this CW-PC thing? Thanks. check out these programs http://www.writelog.com/overview.htm http://www.k1ea.com/ Lamont |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:21:11 -0800, The Shadow wrote:
not sure if CT readsCW CT does *not* read CW, only sends it. |
DX, CW only or do some people do voice too?
On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:17:51 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote: "Jeff" wrote in message ... Does anyone do anything besides CW while DX'ing? I still have to learn/practice CW but would like to try my hand at DX. I know that CW is generally most efficient at low power, but if you don't yet know it..it isn't much help.. Oh yes there's a lot of DX on voice. Generally the pile ups are bigger and more unruley though. That makes it quite a bit harder. Then of course the signal to noise ratio is also poorer. However, I've worked quite a few on voice using no more than 100 watts and a G5RV. Dee, N8UZE I have worked all but 2 countries on both Voice and CW (only missing the 2 newest entities) plus over 200 on RTTY. I find it easier to work DX on CW but they both have their unique quirks. CW is more fun and I worked my first 180 with less than 100 W and dipoles. dean |
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